Our team's diversity is our organization's biggest issue, especially when it comes to communication. Getting project updates and interacting with team members are becoming more and more challenging because of the many time zones and locations involved. It is crucial for the project manager to confront and handle conflict in a healthy and advantageous way. The ability to identify conflicts, comprehend their nature, and be able to bring about an immediate and equitable resolution to conflicts will serve you well as a leader, according to Myatt. I believe that having recognized the problem in our organization, and with the understanding of this problem, the resolution is clear.
The Best Approach to Resolving the Current Conflict
Collaboration with members of the team is a crucial approach that will help the organizations team in resolving these challenges. Several approaches will constitute the collaboration process. First is being in close connection with all members (Isenhart & Spangle, 2000). Because the team is dispersed, makes it quite difficult to see each member person by person as with an organization where all members work in the same office. It will necessitate then that other ways to carry out this task are devised including using the telephone, e-mail to give and to receive feedback.Secondly, the feedback given to all members of the team should not be biased and should have consistency. Attending those team members in the same location as I can make the other members feel left out. It will enable the rest of them to feel that they are treated like the rest. Collaborating in this manner is the best way to handle this challenge because it gets all the team participants to agree with the goals of the organization and be on the same page.
Solution to the Communication Issues
The nature of this organization where members are located in different areas with different time zones brings forth several communication issues and hence a breakdown in giving feedback due to failing communication technology. Such leads more particularly to the choice of some members to use their communications such as e-mail for communication, instead of the communications plan in place, feeling left out by members especially those in the remote areas and who have no privilege of meeting in person with the managers of the project. These challenges are fostered by inexistence of purpose by members of the virtual team; the use of electronic communication often leads to the lack of rapport between us, the management and individual members of the team. Also, lack of satisfaction among the diverse team members.A Strong communications strategy is key to achieving the organization's objectives and especially because the team members are located in diverse time zones. Apart from developing a charter that will give guidance to the team players and ensure that they remain in the know of what the organization requires of them, it is also critical that the communications systems in place. S systems include telephone conferencing, e-mail and telephone calls are strong as well as reliable 'Frequent technology failures are frustrating for remote workers who can't easily pick up the phone if the video suddenly fails during a virtual meeting.
How to Enforce the Use of the Communication Plan
According to Kendrick, (2010) there is need to develop a suitable communication plan that serves the two sides- employer and employee. The plan will ensure that the objective of developing a strong harmonious organization's team, as the leadership achieved. The communication plan becomes useful if it sets out two major aspects; the problem or objective that the organization seeks to solve or achieve and also what's in it for the employee.The communication plan should allow for constant information for the employees giving reasons why things must be done, what is yet to be done. It, therefore, engages the employees in the problem-solving process. Research shows that 90 percent of conflicts in organizations with members in diverse time zones are due to individuals while the other 10 percent is due to technological failures (Dave, 2015).
Measures I Would Use to Determine If These Changes Are Successful
It is important that the changes made to the communication plan show to be working towards resolving the challenges that this organization faces. 'The metrics that matter most are those that tell you if the communication strategy is helping you meet your organization's overall goals ( The NonProfit Times Publishing Group, Inc, 2015).'The management will use annual surveys to measure the activity metrics which will enable he understands of the changes in the communication plan and evaluate how these changes are affecting the process of communication and also determine if all members are on board. The annual surveys will indicate the progress in a significant way. For one the survey will include all the team members from the different locations with the different time zones. They will provide a basis of evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the changes.
References
The NonProfit Times Publishing Group, Inc. (2015, March 15). Measuring the Success of Your Communications Strategy. Retrieved from The NonProfit Times Publishing Group, Inc: http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/management-tips/measuring-the-success-of-your-communications-strategy/
Dave. (2015, September 30). myclientspot. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from Clientspot: http://www.myclientspot.com
Isenhart, M. W., & Spangle, M. L. (2000). Collaborative Approaches to Resolving Conflict. SAGE Publications.
Kearney, E., & Gebert, D. (2009). Managing diversity and enhancing team outcomes: The promise of transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 77-89.
